Several Northeastern Wisconsin sheriffs are endorsing a Republican candidate for state Supreme Court justice this spring.

John Gossage of Brown County, Jerry Sauve of Marinette County, Mike Jansen of Oconto County and Brad Gehring of Outagamie County are among the law-enforcement officials backing Rock County Circuit Judge James Daley of Janesville.

Brown County District Attorney David Lasee also is a Daley supporter.

Daley, 67, is challenging Democrat Ann Walsh Bradley, a member of the court for 20 years.

In a gathering Monday at the Brown County Courthouse, Gossage cited Daley's "exemplary record of being tough on crime and being supportive of the needs of law enforcement," according to a release from Daley's campaign.

Ann Walsh Bradley(Photo: Submitted)

Bradley has raised $265,000 in her re-election campaign, she reported Monday. Daley had yet to file his report that was due by the end of Monday.

The winner elected on April 7 will serve a 10-year term. Bradley, first elected in 1995, is considered to be a part of the liberal minority on the officially nonpartisan court.

Daley has generated support from conservatives as he tries to unseat Bradley. In recent years, outside groups with partisan interests have spent heavily on Supreme Court races, far surpassing spending by the actual candidates.

Daley served with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam, and is a retired brigadier general with the Wisconsin Army National Guard. He was elected Rock County district attorney in 1985, then appointed to the Rock County Circuit Court four years later. He and his wife have four adult daughters.

Bradley, 64, was re-elected in 2005. She taught high school before earning her law degree, and became a Marathon County circuit judge in 1985.